Automatically-operated electric switch.



J. G. CALHOUN.

AUTOMATICALLY OPERATED ELECTRIC SWITCH.

APPLIOATION FILED 8EPT.17, 1906.

919,535, Patented Apr. 27, 1909.

avwemi'oz I .5, a g 1% Z Q A oggmx Q. hgmogm BB m anemic rinting mac ines JOSEPH O: CALHOUN, OF

HOLLAND, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO ({EORGll P.

HUMMER, OF HOLLAND, MIGIilGAN.

AUTOMATICALLY-OPERATED ELECTRIC SWITCH.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented April 2'7, 1909.

Application filed September 17, 1908. Serial No. 384,942.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JosEPH C. CALHOUN, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Holland, in the county of Ottawa and State of, Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatically- Operated Electric Switches; and 'I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable Others skilled in the art to which it gppertains to make and use the same.

y invention relates to improvements in automatically operated electric switches, adapted to be actuated by mechanical timing means, and more particularly when used in connection with electric light photograph as shown in my Patent 0. 854,076, issued May 21, 1907; and its'object is to provide a device by which a signal light is lighted when the printing light is turned off and it consists essentially of a rockshaftcarrying two contacts, mercury cups i into which the said contacts alternately dip,

an arm attached to the rock-shaft and ada ted to be en aged by the actuating arm 0 a timer (not s own,) and a spring adapted to hold either of the contacts in either of two ositions, and of various other new and useul features hereinafter more fully described and particularly, pointed out in the claim, had to the accompanying drawings, in w ich:

ure 1. is a plan view of myimproved switc Fig. 2. a side elevation with parts broken away; and, Fig. 3. a vertical section.

Like characters refer to like parts in all of the figures.

1 is a base of insulatin material, 2 are brackets in which the rorfirshaft 3 is journaled, 4 is an arm by which the rockshaft'is actuated. On the rockshaft 3 are fixed the contacts 8 which dip alternately into the mercury' wells 14 formed in the to of the binding posts 11 and 11. These binding posts are supplied with threaded portions 12 and nuts 13 for attaching the respective circuit wires. On the rockshaft 3 is a pro'ection 5 havingoppositely inclined sides. T e spring 6 which is fixed at one end on the base 1 carries a pro'ection 7 also having oppositely inclined si es which' alternately engage the respective inclined sides of the projection 5. When the rockshaft 3 is moved the inclined sides of the projections 5 and 7 alternately engage and when the rojection 5 passes the vertical line in either iiirection, the adjacent inclined sides of the projections 5 and 7 on gages each other and the action of the spring 6 forces the projections 5 and 7 together and rotates the rockshaft until one of the contacts 8 dips intotho respective mercury cup 14 10 is a wire forming a part of boththe printing and signal light circuits, and the inding posts 11 and 11 are each connected in a separate light circuit.

9 is a spring that works to assist in giving a more rapid break of the circuit to prevent arcing when the circuit which operates the printinglight 1 is broken. This spring9 is connected at one end of the base 1 and at its opposite end it is connected to the periphery o the shaft 3, preferably at a'point on the shaft opposite the projecting part of the shaft.

15 are guards of rubber or other suitable material to prevent the mercury from being thrown from the wells when the contacts 3 are snap ed in or out of the same and the circuits c osed or broken by the action of the springs.

The operation of my device is as follows: The printing light cluster would be connected to the wire 10 and binding post 1 1, the signal li ht being connected to the wire 10 and binding post 11. The wire 10 is flexibly connected to the rock-shaft 3, thus forming a metallic circuit through the shaft 3, contacts 8, the mercury in the cups 14 and binding posts 11 and 11 a to alternately close and open the circuits. When it is desired to make the exposure, the timing device (not shown) is set for the required number of seconds, and the contact 8 set as shownby the dotted lines Fig. 3. This operates the printing light. A sweep arm on the timer contacts the-arm 4 carrying said arm from left to right. As soon as this arm has passedavertical position the combined action of the s rin s 6 and 9 snap it to the osition shown y t 1e solid lines of Fig. 3. his action 0 ens the printing circuit and closes a si nal ight circuit to notify the operator that t e exposure is completed.

What I claim is: i

In a switch of the class described, a base of insulating material, standards on the base, a rock shaft mounted in said standards, a contact memberhaving its bodypassed transversely through the hodyof said shaft and second spring connected atone end to the having its ends terminating in downwardly v base and at its op osite end connected-t0 the directed contacts, stationar contacts for 00- periphery of SQJCF shaft at a point on the peration alternately with t e aforesaid conshaft directly opposite the projecting part of 15 tacts, said shaft having a tapering projecting the shaft.

part, a flat s ring connected at one end to In testimony whereofI affix my signature the base and iaving its opposite end directed 'in presence of two Witnesses. upwardly and terminating beneath said shaft JOSEPH C. CALHOUN.

n engagement with op osite sides of the pro PALMER A. JONES,

' a11(1pro"vided With a tapering projection for Witnesses:

jecting part of the s aft, alternately, anda LUTHER V. MoULToN. 

